Environment
Transboundary haze in Southeast Asia:
What’s peat got to do with it?
by Helena Varkkey and Michelle Ann Miller
People in Southeast Asia are breathing some of the most polluted air in the world.
A 2020 study ranked Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar in the world’s top 20 countries for air pollution, based on average PM2.5 concentration. The PM2.5 particles that make up air pollution are so small (2.5 micrometres) that they can enter our lungs and bloodstreams, causing both long- and short-term respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The very young and elderly are at heightened risk.
Beyond our baseline air pollution, which tends to be worst in urban and industrial areas, Southeast Asia suffers from seasonal transboundary air pollution known as haze. Chronic haze episodes cause major social, health, and economic disruptions across the region. Airports shut down when visibility is poor, schools close, and outdoor activities become a health hazard. Businesses suffer, and workdays are lost, with the tourism industry being especially hard hit. We, as citizens, bear additional costs for masks, air purifiers, medicines, and doctor visits. Emergency services and healthcare budgets become strained.
The costs of haze are hard to quantify. In 2015, a protracted haze episode lasting nine weeks cost Singapore between S$700 million and S$1.83 billion. The World Bank estimated that the 2015 haze cost Indonesia US$16 billion; a more recent haze event in 2019 cost the country US$5.2 billion. Thailand in 2019 incurred losses of around US$77.5 million. Haze-induced deaths have proven more difficult to quantify, with estimates for the 2015 episode ranging between 40,000 and 100,000 due to a combination of pre-existing illnesses, uneven access to medical facilities, and the region’s substantial informal migrant population that are not always counted in official figures.
Haze originates from fires, usually linked to land clearing for agricultural activities. Its coverage, density, and duration depend on the severity of the fires, environmental safeguards in place in land-use regimes, and seasonal and climatic conditions.
To understand why this decoupling is happening, we need to zoom down to peatlands, where most haze in southern Southeast Asia is generated. Peatlands form over thousands of years and mainly comprise decomposing plant matter. They cover just 2–3 percent of the world’s land surface but store up to 25 percent of organic carbon globally. Indonesia (14 million hectares) and Malaysia (2.6 million hectares) contain the largest tropical peat deposits globally. In their natural state, these rich carbon sinks are waterlogged and rarely catch fire.
When peatlands are drained and cleared for agriculture, they dry out quickly. This process releases large volumes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and makes peatlands extremely fire-prone. Peat fires release thick, sooty plumes of smoke, which can travel vast distances. They can burn deeply underground, making them extremely difficult to put out. Underground peat fires can last for weeks or even months. Once burnt, peatlands become more flammable in the future.
Natural situation
Peat accumulates over thousands of years, capturing and storing carbon in a waterlogged dome between 5 and 50 km in diameter.
Drainage
Drainage and deforestation of peatlands lowers the water table, reducing carbon intake and accelerating peat decomposition.
Continued drainage
Decomposition of dried-out peat releases carbon dioxide and causes land subsidence. Drained and degraded peatlands are more prone to haze-causing wildfires.
End stage
Carbon loss and land subsidence will continue unless efforts are taken to protect intact peatlands and rehabilitate drained and degraded peatlands.
Palm oil and acacia (used for pulp and paper products) plantations are the major drivers of land-use change in peatlands. Both crops grow well on peatlands, but they require deep drainage. Drainage in one part of a peat dome will cause the water table to drop across the whole dome, drying out the entire landscape. Plantations in remote peatlands require access roads to transport agricultural produce. In-migration tends to follow these transformations, further disrupting the natural hydrology of peatlands .
Hydrological disruptions in peatlands heighten fire risk. Dams built to retain large volumes of water in plantations can cause dry-season water shortages in surrounding communities, reducing their capacity to deal with fire risks. It is also common for fires to be deliberately lit as a cheap way of clearing land for planting, for speculation purposes, and as a weapon in land conflicts. Taken together, these human modifications of peat landscapes decouple transboundary haze from climatic weather patterns. Despite ongoing regional, national, and sub-national efforts, this problem is becoming worse, not better.
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Map of the Malaysia and Indonesia region showing (1) peatlands, (2) palm oil plantations, (3) woodfibre plantations, and (4) hotspots of heightened fire risk on 23 September 2015.
Many scientists believe peatlands should be kept wet because of their global importance as natural carbon sinks vital for climate change mitigation. Indeed, Indonesia and Malaysia have laws in place to protect pristine peatlands and sustainably develop productive peatlands. However, unsustainable land conversion continues due to weak law enforcement, overlapping regulations, and the profits that accrue to those who exploit these loopholes.
Palm oil and pulpwood are highly profitable peatland commodities. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s largest and second-largest producers of palm oil respectively, sustaining millions of livelihoods. The long cycles of both crops (around 7 years for acacia and up to 25 years for oil palm), combined with problems of land scarcity and ongoing fire risks in abandoned peatlands, make an exit strategy unrealistic.
COVID-19 has added to these problems. Malaysia and Indonesia have tried to recover from the pandemic recession by setting aside new areas for development in formerly protected peatlands. To restore trade and supply chains, both countries have pushed through plans to expand agricultural production, including through rolling back key environmental safeguards. This push to return to business as usual will expand fire risks while making it more difficult to reinstate safe industry standards after the pandemic.
All is not yet lost. Various certification schemes include criteria aimed at preventing the burning of peatlands. However, sustainability certifications are only as strong as market demand. Existing sustainability requirements pose additional costs for large plantation companies and smallholder farmers alike. There is little incentive for these producers of peatland products to invest in certification schemes if these do not translate into profits. Hence, an important way that YOU can directly contribute to reducing haze and fires on peatlands is by choosing products made according to industry standards of best practice.
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Examples of sustainability labels for palm oil and peatland products, achieved through compliance with certification programs that meet industry standards for best practice.
Sustainable Palm Oil
Did you know that around half of the products on your supermarket shelf contain palm oil?
RSPO is the world's largest industry-led sustainability certification scheme for palm oil. However, awareness about sustainable palm oil remains low. This makes it hard for producers who invest in certification costs to profit from their contributions towards sustainability.
RSPO requirements for sustainable peatland use include:
- Fire cannot be used for land preparation
- Fire prevention requires cooperation among peatland stakeholders
- No new planting on peat since November 2018
- For existing peatland cultivation, drainability assessments must be carried out before replanting
- Management plans need to adhere to peatland best practices.
The Singapore registered charity PM Haze has a "Haze-Free Foodstand" campaign to support 32 food establishments in converting to RSPO-certified palm oil. In this way, food sellers and eco-concerned consumers can incentivise growers to adopt sustainability practices in palm oil plantations.
Sustainable Pulp and Paper Products
In 2015, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) suspended the green label accreditation of paper products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a global pulpwood producer headquartered in Singapore, for failing to show that it was using sustainable materials.
This suspension led 16 Singaporean retailers to remove APP products from their shelves. Public awareness subsequently increased about the linkages between fires, haze, and certification schemes.
In 2017, the SEC expanded its green label requirements to become the only pulp and paper certification in the world with specific requirements for peat. These include:
- A zero-burning policy;
- Comprehensive fire management, including mapping of fire risks, a fire prevention budget, engaging communities to promote fire-free alternatives to land preparation, daily hotspot monitoring, and strengthening firefighting training and equipment;
- Comprehensive peatland management, including water table management and biodiversity protection.
Following this, APP undertook organisational reforms to regain its green label certification, including by investing over US$100 million into an Integrated Fire Management System to reduce future haze-forming fires in its peatland concessions.
Dr Michelle Ann Miller is a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Her research interests include environmental governance, urban change and transboundary relations in Southeast Asia.
Dr Helena Varkkey is an Associate Professor at the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya and an Associate Member of the Inter-Asia Engagements Cluster at the Asia Research Institute. Her research areas include transboundary haze diplomacy in Southeast Asia and global palm oil politics.
The Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, is one of the world's foremost research centres on Asia. The Institute brings together scholars working across the social sciences and humanities, forming a vital space for Asia-focused cross-disciplinary research collaboration.
